2nd murder charge in death of Midland mother

Published 6:03 pm, Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Midlander Carlos Martinez III, 21, charged with tampering with evidence in the death of Kyara West, now faces a murder charge for his role in the July 11 shooting.

Martinez was arrested Wednesday morning at his residence on a first-degree felony charge of murder, according to the affidavit. He was arrested on July 11 on a third-degree felony charge of tampering or fabricating physical evidence for allegedly hiding the gun used in the shooting.

MPD Det. Chuck Sims told the Reporter-Telegram that during a forensic search of Castillo's cellphone they found text messages between him and Martinez that referred to a shooting on April 27.

Sims said Martinez had provided a Smith and Wesson .38 special revolver, which Castillo allegedly used to shoot West's mother, Trudy West, in the leg. Martinez also drove Castillo to Trudy West's apartment for that shooting, which occurred in April, Sims said.

When interviewed regarding Kyara West's death, Martinez told police he provided Castillo with a revolver on July 10, according to his arrest affidavit. He initially told police that he did not know why Castillo needed the gun.

Sims said because Martinez was involved with Castillo in a previous shooting, it was difficult to believe he did not know of Castillo's intentions regarding the July 11 shooting.

Police found a weapon with four spent casings in bushes where Martinez reportedly hid it.

Police also arrested Midlander Deseare Breausha Carroll, 21, on a charge of tampering or fabricating physical evidence. She disposed of a pair of shoes and a cellphone in a Dumpster at the Sagewood condominiums, according to the affidavit on her Friday arrest. The report does not indicate who the shoes and phone belonged to.

The shooting occurred between around 1 a.m. on July 11 at the Midland Village Apartments. When police arrived, they found Kyara West lying on a large area of grass on the west side of the complex with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest area, according to court documents.

The shooting may be connected to a child custody dispute. West had been in court July 10 for a child support hearing, according to Castillo's arrest affidavit.

Castillo is being held on a $500,000 bond for a first-degree felony charge of murder and faces five to 99 years in prison if found guilty.

Martinez is back in custody; bond has not been set on the murder charge. If found guilty, he faces five to 99 years in prison for the murder charge and up to 10 years for the tampering charge.

If convicted, Carroll faces up to 10 years in prison for her third-degree felony charge.

Sims said charges are pending in the April shooting of Trudy West.

MPD will be conducting ballistics tests to compare gunshots with casings obtained from the revolver, Sims said.